Mortgage rates declined 5 basis points to 4.6 percent since last week while the purchase application volume declined 0.4 percent. Mortgage rates appear to be continuing to rise after some settling and following weeks of explosive increases.

The purchase application index has been highlighted as a particularly important data series as it very broadly captures the demand side of residential real estate for both new and existing home purchases.

The latest data is showing that the average rate for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage (from FHA and conforming GSE data) declined 5 basis points to 4.60% since last week while the purchase application volume declined 0.4% and the refinance application volume increased 2% over the same period.

Rates appear to be continuing to rise after some settling and following weeks of explosive increases that saw a rise of over 100 basis points seemingly directly correlated with the Feds recent suggestion that they may start to "taper" the GSE and treasury purchases later this year.

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